The Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE on Sprint isn't a beauty, but it packs a strong set of features for the $99 with contract price tag. It has a 1.2GHz dual core Qualcomm S4 CPU with Adreno 225 graphics, NFC with Google Wallet, LTE 4G and a 4" display. While the CPU is higher end, the 800 x 480 display resolution is distinctly mid-tier. As a consolation, it's a bright and sharp screen that offers clear text and pleasing colors when playing videos.

The ambitiously named smartphone runs Android OS 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung's TouchWiz UI enhancements and the usual selection of Samsung apps like MediaHub, their custom media players and calendar app. For those of you who like to shake up the look and feel of your phone, there's SprintID and its selection of packs that customize wallpaper, apps and more.

The 0.5" thick Galaxy Victory has a gloss plastic back and it's a chunky, dated looking phone. This clearly isn't the Samsung Galaxy S III but For $99 on contract, you don't get a super-slim phone or trendy good looks. The phone does have a smaller footprint than the 4.8" Galaxy S II, making it somewhat friendlier for small hands and pockets, though the added thickness detracts a bit. The phone has a gig of RAM and 4 gigs of internal storage plus a microSD card slot. It has a front video chat camera and a decent 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash.

Call quality isn't tops, but it's serviceable and in fact good for outgoing voice. Incoming voice sometimes sounds a bit digitized with a hint of static. LTE speeds in the Dallas area averaged 12Mbps down and 8.9Mbps up according to the Speedtest.net app. That falls below AT&T and Verizon's LTE speeds in our area, but Sprint's LTE network has just rolled out here and we expect it will improve. 3G EV-DO Rev. A speeds were decent by Sprint standards at 1.1Mbps down and 600kpbs up.